Methodology - International trade in high-tech goods

Goods with high technology intensity (hereinafter only referred to as high-tech goods) mean products, production and processing of which require (in a large extent) top, technologically highly advanced, and intensive operations. Development of those products is usually accompanied by rather high costs for research, development, and innovation.

Within international trade statistics (change of ownership), high-tech goods are defined by the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC). Eurostat elaborated a list of high-tech goods based on the fourth revision of the aforementioned classification (SITC Rev. 4) that became effective from 2007. According to the classification, high-tech goods are divided to nine main categories (aggregations).:

• Computers-office machines
• Electronics-telecommunications
• Scientific instruments
• Electrical machinery
• Non-electrical machinery
• Aerospace
• Pharmacy
• Chemistry
• other high-tech

Data on exports and imports of high-tech goods are obtained from data outputs of the international trade statistics, which measures the real trade in goods carried out between Czech and foreign entities, i.e. a change of ownership between residents and non-residents.